Kermit Bushur had an identity problem that nagged him throughout World War II—and
likely saved his life. His draft board turned him down several times, granting him
exemptions he didn't want, so he finally requested voluntary induction. He missed his
outfit's departure for the European Theater and was thrown in with another unit headed
for India. His papers were lost when a transport ship carrying him was sunk. Arriving in
India with no orders, he was assigned to pick up corpses (a famine was sweeping the
country) for funeral pyres. Volunteering for what was described as a hazardous mission,
he soon found himself part of Merrill's Marauders, the composite unit of guerrillas sent
into Burma to harass the Japanese. He would later learn that his original company was
almost completely wiped out on the beaches of Normandy.